CITY Mill gained its name after Queen Mary gave the site to Winchester to help pay for her wedding in the cathedral to Phillip II of Spain in 1554.

Of course, the mill itself was derelict then since, a few years earlier, her father, Henry VIII, had seized it from the nuns at Wherwell Abbey, along with other land they owned in the city.

To celebrate the mill's connections with that period, the National Trust, which owns it, has again organised a Tudor-themed half-term programme.

It starts with a repeat of the popular "Meet the Tudors" weekend on Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22.

Then follows a daily programme of special family activities with a Tudor theme, offering a great opportunity for children studying the period to discover more while enjoying a visit to the mill.

On the opening Saturday, visitors can find out about the food Tudors, both rich and poor, grew and ate because there will be a display by museum staff and volunteers, all in period costume.

They plan to make examples of the different breads that were produced in the period and the mill will be grinding the necessary wholemeal flour.

Highlight of the weekend will be on the Sunday when the Hungerford Household Reenactment Group returns with demonstrations of food, crafts, games music and dance from the Tudor period.

The reenactors, dressed in authentic period clothes, encourage everyone - and especially children - to join in with the activities and they will be very happy to talk about 16th-century life.

During the week, there will be a host of family activities, with costumes for the children to try on, an art activity, games, a Spanish treasure hunt with "pieces-of-eight" as clues, a quiz trail to discover famous 16th-century characters and hands-on activities linked to the mill which, with its working machinery, is open daily from 11am to 5pm.